Acme Burger (Not Mail-Order)

Today we have a very special treat. My friend Spencer - Master of Eats and Chefer of Fine Food, has written us a fabulous review of a gourmet burger restaurant in Salt Lake City.

For all you Utah-ites, or even the LA people who are heading to SLC soon for the Sundance Film Festival -- be sure to stop in and give it a try. I know I want to.


Spencer's Review
Today at lunch I came to the conclusion that Acme Burger is my favorite restaurant. I even tweeted something to this effect:

"Acme Burger is my favorite restaurant ever. Great food you can't find elsewhere & great service. If you haven't been, think couture burgers"

Let's start with the service. The owner, Alan (whom I constantly want to call Alfred because of his similarity in appearance to Michael Caine) greeted us at the door and showed us to our seats. The fact that he's out there greeting people is pretty fantastic. He even recognizes us and complimented Marque on her haircut our last visit. Since they're a local business they're able to have this sort of connection. To me, an important part of food is a sense of community, and they get this right.

On to the food. Today we started with House Cut Bacon and Bleu Chips, which are just what they sound like: house cut potato chips covered in bacon and crumbled blue cheese. I'd had them before and loved them, but found the blue cheese a bit overpowering. The server suggested we have the blue cheese on the side, which we did. Instead of just bringing out a dish of blue cheese, the guys in back took the cheese, melted it down and made a sort of blue fondue type dipping sauce for us, which was way better than what I'd hoped for.

The lunch special we ordered came with soup, a burger, and a dessert. We went with the bison chili, which was fantastic as usual, and also served as a great dip for for the chips. The burger we got was their Turkey burger, which comes topped with arugala and a cranberry mustard sauce, all on a sweet potato bun. Most importantly, their meat is ground and made fresh each day in their kitchen. The turkey burger in particular has onions and cranberries ground in, which I discovered after giving them a call later. Their dedication to good, fresh ingredients really shows here. The dessert was simply labeled as a 'sweet plate,' as it rotates through different things; today was what tasted like a sort of cinnamon-y ginger-y carrot cake with vanilla ice cream. Delicious. One more note on ingredients: they change (with the menu) to suit the season. Keeps things interesting.

You can find the menu over here if you want to navigate through their flash site. Having been there, I've had the Kobe Burger, the Truffle Burger, The Veggie Burger (which is delicious with bacon), the Bison Burger, the Ostrich Burger, as well as others, and every single one is tasty in its own way. If you go, my recommendation is the Truffle Burger, which has a very rich taste to it. Make sure to order the sweet potato fries.

If you're in the downtown Salt Lake area, definitely check it out.

275 South 200 West
Salt Lake City, UT 84101
Phone: 801.257.5700

Breakdown
Time of Day: Afternoon
Guests: Spencer and Marque
Type of Food: Burgers and such
Dish: Burger, soup, chips, and dessert
Price: $21, but with tip, $26. The place is on the pricey side for a burger, but so worth it.
Verdict: As mentioned before, this is my favorite restaurant. Go and enjoy.